The Cross Hatch Dispatch 1/15/08

[Above, art from Bob's blog Thinger, man, below, a slightly less garbled Dispatch.]

Calling all writers! Shadowline, an imprint of Image, is holding a contest for stories with a strong female lead character. Submissions are due soon, so hurry it up, people. As with all Shadowline books, the character will be 100-percent creator-owned. The winning submission gets their character featured in a three-issue mini-series. Click the link for the rest of pertinent info. Good luck.

• They’re free and they’re spectacular. Dailybits.com compiles a list of graphic novels, which are available to download without the guilt of feeling like you’ve stolen it. Among the notables: Fell, Fables, Sandman, DMZ, and some other less known, but not less-good works. Thanks to The Beat for bringing this to our attention.
• Speaking of The Beat: EW named Heidi MacDonald’s comic news blog one the 100 Greatest Websites.  Check it out and check it often. The latest, greatest news in comic-dom never escapes her diligent eye. Congrats, Heidi!
• The son of IDW publisher Ted Adams is apparently a terrorist. He’s also five-years-old. Thanks, homeland security!
• Bob Fingerman has a new blog. Check out the site for some cool art from Bob’s work. Also, be sure to check out his friends’ pages for some additional comic fun.

–Jason Owen